Waitui Marina, Curly and Savusavu Marina - Thank You!

(Photos courtesy of Waitui Marina via sv Cable Length II)

I know you're probably sick of hearing about this, but it's epic to those of us affected by Cyclone Winston.

Manager, Jolene, of Waitui Marina and my favorite Fijian, Laila

Three of the four mooring operators - Jolene (Waitui Marina),
Curly (Curly's Moorings) and Lala (Savusavu Marina)

It took many months to save the boats that crashed aground after the Cat-5 cyclone. To date, all but two boats out of the 23 have been re-floated. Of the two that remain aground, one was abandoned and has been purchased on the cheap by someone... and the other – the last I heard its owners left the country after Winston and have yet to be tracked down.

Locals came to celebrate, too

Beautiful Millie of sv Rainbow Shadow

The amount of energy and sacrifice that went into re-floating boats in Savusavu is tremendous. I wrote an article about it was published this month in Boating New Zealand magazine (June 2016). The best phrase I can think of to describe the endeavor without cussing is: Insanely Intense.

Pick up a copy of Boating NZ: 'Wrecked and Righted'  - June 2016

Alastair, Feraliga and Baby Ambrosia from sv Contraband
(Okay - Baby is also another favorite Fijian)

Curly enjoying a Fiji brew

Jolene, the manager at Waitui Marina, had a great idea at some point during the rescue of the boats. She invited all the marinas to participate in a free party for the cruisers – for those who were wrecked and the cruiser volunteers who were helping those who were wrecked. Curly and Savusavu Marina accepted Waitui's invitation and the three mooring operators out of the four here in Savusavu hosted a heart-warming shindig.

Chillin'

Bona on sv Good News and friend

Music, free barbecue and side dishes... and FREE FIJI BEER... yes, free beer... made for a fun-tastic afternoon. It may not seem like much after enduring Cyclone Winston. But, that party was a boost to morale that was badly needed.

Cheers!

So, thank you to Waitui Marina, Curly and Savusavu Marina for supporting the cruising community and supplying us with an afternoon of food and fun (and beer). It was a nice distraction from the drudgery of the hellacious tasks we'd started and would see through to the end.